The Royal Navy Senior XV will have a change in the centre as Marine Scott Llewellyn (Cdo Log Regt RM) has been withdrawn from the starting line up due to illness. His place at Outside Centre will be taken by Marine Rob Lloyd (42 Cdo RM), who moves up from Full Back, and experienced Navy player LAET Andy Vance (HMS Nelson) will drop back from the wing to play at Full Back. That leaves the way open for the return of exciting winger Logs (CS) Josh Drauniniu (HMNB Portsmouth) who will make his first appearance in a Navy shirt since the Babcock Commonwealth Cup back in October. The player selected to fill the vacant spot on the bench will be announced just prior to the mat...
It isn't known if Duke of Wellington actually did say that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. But it is an accepted fact that the game of rugby helps to develop leadership qualities and team spirit that can prove useful outside of the sport in military and civilian walks of life.
So it was with the playing fields of the Northumberland RFU headquarters, Druid Park, where the action was on Wednesday 10 th February; everyone, including future servicemen and women, enjoyed a successful 10-a-side and tag tournament.
There were teams from the Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval Unit, RAF Boulmer, Northumbrian Universities Officer Training Corps, the Northumb...
A clear, dry evening saw Varsity winners Cambridge University, host the Royal Navy Senior XV at their Grange Road ground. The light blues fielded arguably their strongest squad this season, with their starting line up including 10 Blues and 1 International.
A small but enthusiastic home crowd witnessed a flowing game with the students determined to play at a fast pace. They attacked the breakdown with vigour, offloaded well in contact and exploited the width of the pitch to good effect. Declaring their intent from the whistle, an early marker was laid by wing Rob Stevens who scored after only 2 minutes of play to take the home team into a 5 point lead.
The RN maintained a reso...
The second match of the RNRU Vetterans XXXV season was against a familiar foe in Havant RFC who, historically, have proven worthy and difficult opponents in years gone by. The training day had gone to plan with WO Glen Humphreys coordinating the team and Head Coach LT Mick Connolly, working the team hard to develop a well structured game plan.
Conditions were hard although bitterly cold and this was somehow reflected in the RN's performance. Good field position gained by the deft boot of the Havant No 10 led to a scrum 10 yards out with the RN put in. Bad communication led to the Havant scrum half poaching the ball to feed the No 8 a simple pass to sco...
A vocal and enthusiastic crowd braved a damp and chilly evening in Portsmouth to witness the first run out for the newly-formed Royal Navy Senior XV squad. The fixture against Newbury in January had been cancelled so this was the first chance for the Director of Rugby and his coaching team to see his squad play against strong, competitive opposition. Oxford University had travelled down to Portsmouth, fresh from their win a week earlier against the RAF (by 38 points to 14), with a team that boasted 8 Blues and 2 Internationals. The scene was thus set for an interesting and entertaining encounter.
The rain eased off but the conditions underfoot were damp and slippery. The RN kicked off...
